Gratuity Price Hike?

[fshagan]

Fshagan

Those are great points. At an increase of $3.58/day/pp you know what means. OMG no more Bingo or Deal or No Deal cards. LOL

 

Uh oh ... don't let my wife read that quip about bingo cards! They have gone up more than anything else on board. I wish you could buy one for $3.58!

 

So the equation now is if you drink 3.5 or 4 mixed drinks per day the gratuity / service charge on the promo is still a good deal. If you're like me and have maybe a drink per day then not a deal at all. NCL does not force me to take the promo, so I'm good with it. I can decline the promo completely if I want, even if they have all five thrown in. As long as they keep it that way I won't complain!

[mianmike]

The free drink package is too expensive for us. We'll just buy individual drinks.

[halegliss]

The free drink package is too expensive for us. We'll just buy individual drinks.

 

 

 

Ditto - we don’t drink that much and if we really want to then we have a drink in port.

 

 

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[Lovincruisin1321]

Uh oh ... don't let my wife read that quip about bingo cards! They have gone up more than anything else on board. I wish you could buy one for $3.58!

 

So the equation now is if you drink 3.5 or 4 mixed drinks per day the gratuity / service charge on the promo is still a good deal. If you're like me and have maybe a drink per day then not a deal at all. NCL does not force me to take the promo, so I'm good with it. I can decline the promo completely if I want, even if they have all five thrown in. As long as they keep it that way I won't complain!

 

Perhaps there is fine print that I didn't read. On the "Free Drink Perk", is there a drink limit per day? If so, where do I find this disclosure?

[zqvol]

I just saw this online. Not officially announced by NCL. I signed up for two "Perks". Are there hidden gratuity fees that I will see at final payment?

 

"Norwegian Cruise Line Raises GratuityCharges

 

If you book a trip with Norwegian Cruise Line, expect to pay morefor those “free” perks. For new bookings, the automatic gratuity the line tackson to the Ultimate Beverage and Specialty Dining packages has gone up from 18percent to 20 percent, effective immediately.

Details On The Gratuity Charge Hike

 

The latestincrease in gratuities charges would be easy to miss if one wasn’t looking forit. After all, the increase hasn’t been publicized by the line, and it is beingautomatically added to the “perks” associated with Norwegian’s popular Free AtSea program. Free At Sea offers a variety of perks to passengers upon booking,with how many are available to them based on the category of stateroom beingbooked. While the perks occasionally change, the Ultimate Beverage andSpecialty Dining packages are almost always available, and each are incrediblypopular. The service charge in question only shows up in the final stage ofbooking, where it is listed as “Choice Promo Srvc Chrg.”

If you book a trip with Norwegian Cruise Line, expect to pay morefor those “free” perks. For new bookings, the automatic gratuity the line tackson to the Ultimate Beverage and Specialty Dining packages has gone up from 18percent to 20 percent, effective immediately.

Details On The Gratuity Charge Hike

 

The latestincrease in gratuities charges would be easy to miss if one wasn’t looking forit. After all, the increase hasn’t been publicized by the line, and it is beingautomatically added to the “perks” associated with Norwegian’s popular Free AtSea program. Free At Sea offers a variety of perks to passengers upon booking,with how many are available to them based on the category of stateroom beingbooked. While the perks occasionally change, the Ultimate Beverage andSpecialty Dining packages are almost always available, and each are incrediblypopular. The service charge in question only shows up in the final stage ofbooking, where it is listed as “Choice Promo Srvc Chrg.”

 

This comes on theheels of the recent decision to increase the per-day price of the package.Including gratuity, Norwegian’s beverage package now runs over $100 a day torthose purchasing it outright as opposed to receiving it as a perk.

How much you wind up payingwill depend on whether you choose one or both of the perks, as well as thelength of your sailing. On a 7-day sailing, the 20 percent gratuity on thebeverage package will now add $124.60 to your total bill, while the diningpackage (which on a week-long trip gives you the opportunity to dine inspecialty restaurants for free on three of those evenings) will come with atotal charge of $13.80.

 

First the fees are NOT gratuities that go to your servers, they are service charges that go to NCL and among other things pay the staff. Unfortunately nothing is free and NCL has to make a profit for its shareholders. In order to do that they have to generate revenue and this is a revenue generator.

 

 

Instead of looking at the service charge as an added fee, consider what you would pay for the "perks", if you were paying a la carte. If you would pay more than the service charge then the "perks' are a good deal, if you would nto pay more than that, you are better off selecting a different option.

[beerman2]

Perhaps there is fine print that I didn't read. On the "Free Drink Perk", is there a drink limit per day? If so, where do I find this disclosure?

No limit on number of drinks, but price limit of 15.00 per drink.

 

Any drink over $15.00 you pay the difference + 20% gratuity now.

 

Ex: on last cruise Chocolate Martini was 17.95

It cost me 2.95 + 18% (then)=3.48 extra.

[zitsky]

I don't mind tipping but my limit is 20%. If they made it 25% or higher, I'd really have a problem.

[fshagan]

Perhaps there is fine print that I didn't read. On the "Free Drink Perk", is there a drink limit per day? If so, where do I find this disclosure?

 

NCL has always been unlimited. What I'm saying is that the daily service fee for the free drink package is equal to 3 or 4 drinks cost. So if you drink less than that it doesn't make financial sense to accept the promo and pay the service charge. Some people might want to anyway because having it removes the stress of having a large bar bill at the end of the cruise, or because they want the freedom to try different things without worrying about price. Choosing one thing over another is not always about cost.

 

 

So if you want to drink a lot on vacation you can with the beverage package on NCL. I think they reserve the right to stop serving you based on your behavior, but otherwise you can drink as much as you want.

 

 

On another thread someone said they were told that there was a limit now imposed, but we haven't seen any verification of that.

[PTC DAWG]

Tony and Envelope,

If you are not an adult beverage consumer you have a point, but even at $294.60 that’s 6 beers or 4 1/2 cocktails. That would be breakfast. LOL.

 

 

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I'm in the boat with you....I couldn't afford to get off the ship without UBP...

[texastennis]

Personally glad they raised it. If the value of the cruise they provide is no longer the best price, and that's all you look for, then go elsewhere. Ever since they started implementing this free at sea promo, all the bargains hunters have come out, and honestly the mix of passengers has changed. I'd rather pay a bit more, and go back to the passenger mix they had before all these changes. If they want to provide bottom tier pricing, for bottom tier value, there are already lines that do that. NCL used to be at least a notch above that.

 

Out of curiosity, how has the "passenger mix" changed?

[bigbadandugly]

Does anyone know for a fact that all gratuities paid by the passengers end up in the pockets of the staff? My understanding is that the auto gratuities go into a pool and then its divided amongst qualifying staff, but that understanding was based on comments on this board.

 

I'm assuming the staff have no right to audit NCL (and other cruise lines with similar programs), particularly because they are contractors. I can easily see the cruise lines skimming a chunk off the top if they need to manage earnings during any particular quarter.

[Enavigo]

Perhaps this has been discussed elsewhere and I missed it, is this just for new bookings regardless of travel date or does it apply to all cruises departing from now on?

 

 

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[fshagan]

Does anyone know for a fact that all gratuities paid by the passengers end up in the pockets of the staff? My understanding is that the auto gratuities go into a pool and then its divided amongst qualifying staff, but that understanding was based on comments on this board.

 

No one knows.

 

 

Here's my observation: NCL charges a fee and I pay it. NCL provides me with a cruise and I enjoy it. NCL hires people who tell me they love their jobs, and are really grateful to have a job that pays them 3 to 4 times what they can earn at home for the same skill level of work.

 

It's pretty much a win win for me and NCL.

[cheersforbeers]

No one knows.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my observation: NCL charges a fee and I pay it. NCL provides me with a cruise and I enjoy it. NCL hires people who tell me they love their jobs, and are really grateful to have a job that pays them 3 to 4 times what they can earn at home for the same skill level of work.

 

 

 

It's pretty much a win win for me and NCL.

 

 

 

FS,

Those are the same answers I receive when I engage employees during on cruises, THANKS for bringing it up.

NCL is just like any other enterprise, they present you with options if one likes them they purchase if not they don’t.

[fshagan]

FS,

Those are the same answers I receive when I engage employees during on cruises, THANKS for bringing it up.

NCL is just like any other enterprise, they present you with options if one likes them they purchase if not they don’t.

 

It's not a hard thing to figure out. My only concern about all of it when I first started cruising was the myths around how much the crew were paid and how they were exploited by the evil companies. After talking with crew members, and doing a little research, I realized they were happy for me to contribute to their standard of living and were not being exploited.

[cheersforbeers]

It's not a hard thing to figure out. My only concern about all of it when I first started cruising was the myths around how much the crew were paid and how they were exploited by the evil companies. After talking with crew members, and doing a little research, I realized they were happy for me to contribute to their standard of living and were not being exploited.

 

 

 

Different cultures look at things from another angle than our we are use to. It’s amazing what you can learn if you truly engaged people like you are interested in them as a person. Most I see are less fortunate but very proud people.

[swedish weave]

Does anyone know for a fact that all gratuities paid by the passengers end up in the pockets of the staff? My understanding is that the auto gratuities go into a pool and then its divided amongst qualifying staff, but that understanding was based on comments on this board.

 

I'm assuming the staff have no right to audit NCL (and other cruise lines with similar programs), particularly because they are contractors. I can easily see the cruise lines skimming a chunk off the top if they need to manage earnings during any particular quarter.

 

The cruise lines are required to pay the crew a contracted amount. That is in line with the ILO standards and the union agreements.

 

Where the money comes from can be at the discretion of cruise line management, but if the DSC pool doesn't have sufficient funds to meet the minimum, the cruise line must make up the shortfall.

 

If you do the math, it shows that the recent increases in the DSC provides more than enough funds for the crew minimum wages if all guests leave the DSC in place.

 

The arguments on these boards are not valid, because the crew will receive their contracted wages and are allowed to keep cash tips even if some guests remove or reduce the DSC.

[NLH Arizona]

Does anyone know for a fact that all gratuities paid by the passengers end up in the pockets of the staff? My understanding is that the auto gratuities go into a pool and then its divided amongst qualifying staff, but that understanding was based on comments on this board.

 

I'm assuming the staff have no right to audit NCL (and other cruise lines with similar programs), particularly because they are contractors. I can easily see the cruise lines skimming a chunk off the top if they need to manage earnings during any particular quarter.

The staff can not audit the company, but they can not work for them if the do not get, what they feel is, a fair wage. Some posters have stated that they know they are skimming, but no one has ever shown any proof.

 

Bottom line is, like every company, the cruise line has the right to do with dollars given them and how and what they pay their staff is between them and their employees. If someone doesn't like their business practices, then possibly they should find a business they more align with, because no matter what anyone's says on here, NCL isn't going to change how they do things.

[zitsky]

The staff can not audit the company, but they can not work for them if the do not get, what they feel is, a fair wage. Some posters have stated that they know they are skimming, but no one has ever shown any proof.

 

Bottom line is, like every company, the cruise line has the right to do with dollars given them and how and what they pay their staff is between them and their employees. If someone doesn't like their business practices, then possibly they should find a business they more align with, because no matter what anyone's says on here, NCL isn't going to change how they do things.

 

If they collect money and say it's for staff, then it better be for staff. People do choose to go elsewhere, if something shady is going on.

[NLH Arizona]

If they collect money and say it's for staff, then it better be for staff. People do choose to go elsewhere, if something shady is going on.

Do you know it is not going to staff? I'm sure none of the staff wants the minimum wage and works hard for those extra dollars. I agree, if folks think something shady is going on, instead of having an issue with it on here, go to another line. For me, I've got no issues, so I'll continue to enjoy NCL.

[NLH Arizona]

Different cultures look at things from another angle than our we are use to. It’s amazing what you can learn if you truly engaged people like you are interested in them as a person. Most I see are less fortunate but very proud people.

Agree 1000 percent.

[zitsky]

Do you know it is not going to staff? I'm sure none of the staff wants the minimum wage and works hard for those extra dollars. I agree, if folks think something shady is going on, instead of having an issue with it on here, go to another line. For me, I've got no issues, so I'll continue to enjoy NCL.

 

I'm not saying I know one way or another. But people have every right to come here and complain.

[NLH Arizona]

I'm not saying I know one way or another. But people have every right to come here and complain.

I guess I just don't understand, one, because NCL isn't going to change and two, it only keeps the posters who have any issue with it with negativity and some are so obsessed with it. Writing or calling NCL with their issues would seem more effective way to me, but this is only my opinion.

[swedish weave]

Do you know it is not going to staff? I'm sure none of the staff wants the minimum wage and works hard for those extra dollars. I agree, if folks think something shady is going on, instead of having an issue with it on here, go to another line. For me, I've got no issues, so I'll continue to enjoy NCL.

The crew get the contracted salary and are allowed to keep cash tips.

 

The salary is spelled out in the ITF agreement.

NCL can shuffle the numbers however they choose, but if enough people remove or reduce the DSC, the cruise line must make up the shortfall.

 

The minimum salaries are almost triple the amount the crew can earn in their home countries, so they are pleased with the contracted amount they are paid.

At least those I know personally are.

 

If you do the math, you can see that the recent increases in the DSC produces enough revenue to more than pay the crew salaries. We will never know what NCL does with the excess.

[Two Wheels Only]

...but if enough people remove or reduce the DSC, the cruise line must make up the shortfall.

 

And we all know where that will come from...:rolleyes: